Over the past 30 years, no league has brought together more nations than the Premier League (PL), and with the 31st full year of its existence coming to an end, we're taking a look at the African nations with the most PL goals, and any looming milestones.
Players from a whole host of different African nations have hit the net regularly in the English Premier League in recent years. But there are, of course, no prizes for guessing which African nation still leads the way by a huge margin…
African nations with the most PL goals (100+)
Nigeria – 577
Three decades ago, anyone from outside Europe featuring in the PL was something of a novelty. However, Nigerians have been ever present from the PL's very inception, with George Ndah and Efan Ekoku making their mark (for Crystal Palace and Norwich/Wimbledon respectively) as early as 1992/93.
Ndah spent five years with the Eagles (1992-97) but two relegations in that time stunted his ability to contribute to Nigeria's current 577-goal tally in the PL.
Ekoku, meanwhile, made history in September 1993, when four goals for Norwich in a 5-1 win at Everton saw him become the first African to score a PL hat-trick and the first man at all to net a quartet in a PL match.
Arguably the most prominent Nigerian hitman was, however, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who struck 95 goals across spells with Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton and Blackburn.
Weekend odds: Alex Iwobi to score vs Liverpool (9/1)
Unless Victor Osimhen makes his rumoured move to Chelsea a reality, Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi is currently Nigeria's best hope of getting to the ‘600' mark. But he's out of action right now, leaving Alex Iwobi as the ‘likeliest' Nigerian to score this weekend.
There's just one catch, in that the former Evertonian faces old nemesis Liverpool, so there'll be a hostile atmosphere whenever he gets a touch.
Ivory Coast – 425
Across two spells with Chelsea, Didier Droga notched 104 Premier League goals, which puts him top of the Ivorian goal-scoring chart in the PL. Drogba’s goals helped the Blues to seal four league titles between 2004 and 2015.
Weekend odds: Simon Adingra to score vs Chelsea (23/5)
Simon Adingra currently sits on three goals in 12 PL appearances so far this term. ‘One in four' is decent enough for a wide man under a Roberto De Zerbi system, but he's no doubt a very speculative pick to find the net at Stamford Bridge.
Senegal – 423
Sadio Mané was a central figure in the Reds’ ruthless attacking trio along with Salah and Roberto Firmino. During his spell with Liverpool, along with an additional two years prior playing for Southampton, Mané scored 111 Premier League goals in 263 appearances.
Weekend odds: Nicolas Jackson to score vs Brighton (6/4)
With Mané gone, it's now up to Jackson to turn his back on a poor start to life at Stamford Bridge and start banging them in. He's the likeliest candidate to score against the Seagulls on Sunday.
Egypt – 201
Liverpool’s Salah accounts for nearly three-quarters of all the goals scored by Egyptian players in the Premier League. The Reds captain notched his first-ever Premier League goal for Chelsea in the 2013/14 season. Since then, Salah has fired in another 147 Premier League goals and won three Golden Boot awards.
In addition, the 31-year-old is the Reds’ all-time leading scorer in the Premier League era. Other past players of note include Mido and Amr Zaki.
Weekend odds: Salah to score vs Fulham (10/11)
After netting a brace in his last home league game, Salah is odds-on to breach the Cottagers' backline on Sunday.
Ghana – 154
The Ayew brothers, Andre and Jordan, have elevated Ghana’s position in the African nations with the most Premier League goals charts.
Andre Ayew scored 21 goals whilst representing Swansea and West Ham. But he has since been outperformed by his sibling Jordan Ayew, who has netted 34 Premier League goals for Crystal Palace, Swansea and Aston Villa.
Weekend odds: Jordan Ayew to score vs West Ham (6/1)
West Ham migh be fatigued from their midweek trip to Serbia to face TSC, so Ayew might fancy his chances of netting at the London Stadium.
Cameroon – 124
Cameroon's breakthrough 1990 World Cup campaign made the biggest European leagues sit up and take notice of African talents, before Nigeria accelerated the process later in the 1990s, at a time when the PL in particular was growing at a rate of knots.
Even though some of Cameroon’s most talented players ever have scored in the Premier League, few have netted enough goals to elevate themselves to the elite.
Former Middlesbrough striker Joseph-Désiré Job is the highest-scoring Cameroonian in PL history. His 16 goals for Boro place him above the likes of Samuel Eto'o (12) and Marc Vivien Foé (10).
Weekend odds: Bryan Mbeumo to score vs Luton (13/10)
Luton might be a force renewed, after they increased their buffer from the relegation zone with a win over Crystal Palace. However, Brentford will be massive favourites all the same, with Mbeumo amongst the frontrunners to breach the Hatters' backline.
Mali – 104
Despite the presence of some top Malian players in the current crop of Premier League stars, such as Yves Bissouma and Abdoulaye Doucouré, one former player has outperformed his compatriots.
Freddie Kanouté netted 44 goals during a seven-year Premier League spell. Most of the forward’s goals came for West Ham, where Kanouté scored 29 goals across four seasons.
Weekend odds: Doucoure to score vs Nottingham Forest (5/1)
Everton's saviour of the 2022/23 finale has performed well on the road in recent weeks. He'll be key if the Toffees are to start their recovery from a devastating 10-point deduction in earnest this weekend.
South Africa – 103
Two former South African players made their mark on the Premier League in the 2000s. Benni McCarthy is Bofana Bofana’s leading scorer in the league as he netted all of his goals for Blackburn between 2006 and 2010 before a barren spell with West Ham.
Before McCarthy’s scoring exploits, Shaun Bartlett struck 24 goals for Charlton in a six-year top-flight stint, with a BBC Goal of the Season winner in 2001 amongst them.
African nations with less than 100 PL goals
DR Congo – 99
DR Congo has produced some great players who entertained the Premier League. Newcastle, Portsmouth and DR Congo fans will remember Lomana LuaLua fondly as the former player notched 24 goals during spells with the Magpies and Pompey.
With just Brentford's Yoane Wissa and Luton’s Pelly Ruddock-Mpanzu currently representing DR Congo in the Premier League, the nation's century of goals rests on their shoulders.
Morocco – 99
Former Moroccan Premier League players Adel Taarabt, Marouane Chamakh and Mustapha Hadji contributed 36 goals to their nation’s total.
With just one Premier League goal remaining until the magic 100, Man United midfielder Sofyan Amrabat is the prime candidate to complete Morocco's PL century.
Togo – 98
With only a handful of Togo players participating in the Premier League, the goalscoring fortunes ultimately rested on one player. Emmanuel Adebayor notched 97 goals during spells with Arsenal and Man City.
Gabon – 79
Former Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored 69 goals in his Premier League stint. Daniel Cousin is the next highest Gabon scorer in the English top flight as he struck four times for Hull in the 2008/09 season.
